LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Republican congressman from Arkansas on Thursday posted - and later deleted - a tweet criticizing President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers for "violent rhetoric" during a U.S. Capitol lockdown following a shooting.

U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin tweeted from his personal account "Stop the violent rhetoric President Obama, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi" after a shooting was reported outside the Capitol. Griffin's tweet included the hashtag "disgusting."

Griffin sent that tweet after sending another about the gunshots outside the Capitol. He later deleted the tweet, which had received a flurry of angry responses on Twitter, and issued a statement indicating he regretted sending it out.

"We are still processing information about this shooting, but as I have been saying for days, we all need to choose our words wisely because violent rhetoric only coarsens our culture, creates an atmosphere of incivility and is not helpful," Griffin said in a prepared statement released by his office. "I tweeted out of emotion but agree that the timing was not helpful."

Griffin also said in the statement that "No one but the shooter is to blame."

Griffin is a two-term congressman who represents the 2nd district in central Arkansas. He does not have an announced Democratic opponent for his re-election bid next year.

Griffin's tweet did not specify what "violent rhetoric" he was referring to by the president or the Democratic lawmakers, and his office didn't immediately respond to a request for an interview with the congressman.

Before Thursday's lockdown, he had tweeted from his account: "Is violent Democrat language resulting in real violence? Dems said 'yes' previously. Just saying. ."

The lockdown occurred after a woman driving a black Infiniti with a young child in the car tried to ram through a White House barricade Thursday, then led police on a chase that ended in gunfire outside the Capitol. Police shot and killed the woman.